Author: Michelle Richmond

If you’ve been following this blog, you know that I primarily write about writing, publishing, and literature. But my secret passion is for design, and I’ll confess that I spend countless hours tracking down great designs from high to low. I especially love small furniture and design shops, where the makers put their personal stamp on every piece. This week, I’m focusing on small makers of beautiful modern furniture.

On Organic Modern’s website, I found all sorts of amazing pieces. Here’s the one I’m dreaming of, modern shelves in a mix of walnut and candyesqe brights. At 94.5″ wide, these gorgeous shelves won’t fit against any wall in my house, but if they would, I’d have to tie myself to a chair to avoid clicking the buy button.

I’m also in love with this modern sofa, made of a walnut frame with fabric upholstery and seat back. The extension rising up out of the back makes it look as though the sofa could up and fly away. This is a statement piece, unlike any sofa I’ve ever seen. In my home, we’re blessed with floor-to-celing windows that I’d be crazy to cover, so we keep our seating low profile in order not to obstruct the views. But if you have a central spot in your home crying out for both a practical sofa and a conversation-inducing statement piece, here’s your solution.

Our final item is this beautiful credenza with a walnut frame. This is Organic Modernism’s take on a sophisticated mid century modern classic. At $2,995, it’s in the same price range as credenzas by the big chain stores.

I confess, I’m really into apps. Last year, I downloaded so many “productivity” apps, they took a serious toll on my productivity. In 2015, I’m streamlining my app use. I’ve deleted a couple dozen apps from my phone, keeping only the ones that I really use, and the ones that don’t distract me. Drum roll please.

Pomodoro ($1.99)
This is a really simple app that forces you to stick to a schedule. Even though it’s not made specifically for writing, Pomodoro is great for staying on track with a writing project. Basically, you set your phone for one pomodoro–a segment of time (mine is set for 25 minutes). Once you click “start,” you work until the app dings, and then you take a break (I set mine for 5 minutes) until it dings again. Then you work for 25 more minutes, then a five-minute break, etc. After four segments of work, you get a “long break.” Basically, it’s a time that encourages you to stay in your chair and write.

WordPress (Free)
Well, let’s start with “it’s free.” No commitment. If your blog runs on wordpress, you should try it. I spend a lot of time waiting for my kid at sports events and school pick up. With the WordPress app, if I have an idea for my blog (and these ideas almost always strike when I’m not at my desk), I can draft it right on my phone. You can also post from the phone, although I usually save whatever I’m writing as a draft and then edit and post it from my laptop.

Drafts ($9.99)
I do a lot of research when I’m writing a novel. I’m also constantly earmarking articles that I want to mention on my blog. Drafts is an easy way to save article links and texts directly from what you’re reading. I like it because I’m always bookmarking articles on my phone or iPad, never to see them again. With Drafts, I have a handy list that’s easily navigable, so none of those great ideas get lost. I purchased Drafts during a New Year’s deal for $4.99, and it was worth every penny. The regular price is $9.99, which is a lot for an app, which brings me to…

1Writer ($2.99)
If you liked the idea of Drafts but don’t like the price tag, try 1Writer. It’s pretty, has great features, and costs seven dollars less. The developers describe it as “distraction free writing with inline markdown preview.” Before I downloaded Drafts, I used 1Writer all the time. It doesn’t have as many fancy features as Drafts, but it has plenty. My favorite feature is the in-app browser, so you don’t have to leave the app to go to Safari if you’re doing research.

The 30 Day Novel app is a content-rich app designed to help you get a draft of your novel on the page quickly. It won’t write your novel for you. It won’t time you. There are plenty of great timer and scheduling apps on the market. This app, by contrast, focuses on clear daily assignments that are progressively arranged to help you build your novel from the ground up, one day at a time. In additional to the daily assignments, you’ll find articles on narrative craft and a series of 500-word writing prompts. Based on The Paperclip Method, a highly effective approach to novel writing that values discovery over formula.

And one fun app you don’t need at all:
Hanx Writer makes your iPad or iPhone keyboard sound like a typewriter. That’s all it does. Nothing else. But it’s really fun. It was developed by Tom Hanks. It’s not so useful, but it’s really addicting.

What are you favorite writing apps?
Please comment with the apps you find the most useful for writing, and I’ll post them here on Sans Serif.

Huge crowds turned out for the Paris unity march to support freedom of expression and honor the cartoonists, policemen, and others who died during the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the grocery store in Paris.

“Paris is the capital of the world today. The whole country will rise up.” Francois Hollande

In attendance were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and other world leaders. The dignitaries walked at the front of a crowd of hundreds of thousands.

Get the new year off to a productive start with an online writing class. Whether you’re just starting out or you have a few stories or novels tucked away in a drawer, these classes can help you rev up your writing practice. Choose from Fundamentals of Fiction Writing, the Fiction Master Class, the Publishing Workshop, and more.

In this course, you will learn how to write a short story or novel using the fundamental building blocks of fiction.

The course is divided into nine sections. Each section focuses on an essential element of narrative craft. Through video and written lectures, you will learn the tools you need to begin writing fiction:

Characterization

Point of View

Setting

Description

Dialogue

Plot

Structure

Voice

Revision

Each section includes writing exercises to help you practice what you’ve learned and deepen your understanding of the material, as well quizzes to assess your progress and suggestions for further reading.

Who should take this class:

If you’ve always wanted to write a story or novel but don’t know where to begin, or if you took a couple of writing classes in the past and want to brush up on your knowledge and reinvigorate your writing practice, this course is for you. Led by a New York Times bestselling author with more than a decade of experience teaching creative writing at the university level, Fundamentals of Fiction Writing provides a great foundation for anyone interested in writing short stories, novels, or novellas.

Choose the workshop add-on to get individualized feedback on your assignments from the instructor.

Designed for intermediate and advanced writers with prior workshop experience, this six-week intensive workshop will delve into complex issues of narrative craft. You’ll receive valuable feedback on your project from the instructor and your peers. Weekly Google hang-outs will provide a space to interact one-on-one in real time with the instructor.

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About this blog

Michelle Richmond is the New York Times bestselling author of four novels and two award-winning story collections, including Golden State, The Year of Fog, and Hum. She is the founder and publisher of Fiction Attic Press.